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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v BLACKHAWKSJune 16, 2013Alex OvechkinBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome you to our conference call featuring 2012/2013 Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin. We'll open it up for questions. Q. What does this Hart Trophy mean to you compared to the previous two awards you won? ALEX OVECHKIN: This means a lot. It's means, again, it was like hard year for me, for all Caps in organization because it was middle of the year. I go to the right wing. I went to right wing. It was especially hard for me. You know, it works. Again, first of all, how I said on Twitter, thanks to everybody, thanks to my teammates, my coaching staff, my family. Again, it's big pleasure for me to have this award. You know, it's means a lot. Again, if it was not OT, it was probably hard coming back for me in this position. I think I'm pretty happy. It means a lot. Q. Alex, I talked to Adam a little bit this week and last night after your win. He talked about now that you're on top, it can be easier to keep working to get better. Do you feel that way? How do you want to improve your game? ALEX OVECHKIN: 100% I feel I'm back on track, especially with him. The last night I call him right away. He was almost first person I called after my family, of course. Then I talked to George after that. I talked to Adam. I say, Thank you very much. I'm just happy because, again, it's history. It means a lot for me. It's history. It's kind of situation when sometimes you're upstairs, going down, because coaching staff, was different system. Again, I'm just happy. How can I improve my game? I tell Adam I'm going to be along with you since first day. I tell him, I trust you. He said, Okay, just listen to me and you going to be okay. I'm kind of listen to him. Right now almost I'm okay. Of course, I just want to be in position. I still want to play hockey. I look at the series, I just want to be right there to play for Stanley Cup. You win, you win. But sometimes you lose some. I think I win this one and we lose Stanley Cup. Again, situation, it can be different. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I'm pretty happy right now. I'm going to work hard. Again, it's a pleasure. I'm pretty happy. Q. Alex, we talked about the right wing. You credited Adam. Do you think you would have won the MVP if you had not switched to right wing? ALEX OVECHKIN: First of all, it's pretty hard to say if I win, if not. Switching position was pretty hard for me. The situation, I kind of go back to left wing. We tried to find the best way for me. Again, it's all about Oatesy. Oatesy tell me you have to do it. I talk before. If situation was working left wing, it was work. But situation on the right wing, power play, of course it's a different position. Of course, it's my work, but it's all about everybody, you know, coaching staff, my partners, everything. Right wing was hard, but it's working. So I'm pretty glad. I'm pretty happy. Q. How is the foot healing? ALEX OVECHKIN: Foot is okay. Right now I'm working fine. I'm going to start playing tennis soon. I'm going to be in good shape. Maria right now, she's out of town. I'm going there and I'm working. It's kind of getting better, so I feel pretty good about my foot. Q. Regarding the switch to right wing, how much better do you think things will go for you next year now that you had that 48‑game season to work out all the kinks and get familiar on that side? ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, the whole position, you know what, I play in KHL, and I play in the left wing. Since I came back to NHL, Adam put me on the right wing. If something happens, something bad happens, I always can go back to left wing and play there. The good thing is nothing bad happened and I always play on right wing. It's kind of position, you understand you have to be there for you, to switch the positions, to change at the end, change your style, play for team. Adam tell me everything. It's all about Adam. I can tell about like everything.  If it was not him, I never go to right wing and I never go to that kind of position I have right now. It's unbelievable. Again, right wing is right wing, and I'm pretty happy. Q. How much did the foot fracture affect you at the end of the playoffs? How much of a factor were any other injuries that you had during the year? ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, be honest with you, I'm never know I have my broken foot after World Championship, first of all. I make a blocked shot. The puck broke my foot. I never ask Mr. Schaffer about if I have something. I just play the game because it's the playoffs. It doesn't matter what happen. You have to be there and you have to play the best that you can. After losing Game 7, coming back, I come back from Russia, my Russian national team, we make MRI and show I have a broken foot. The position, I was feeling like it was okay. I can still play hockey. If you hockey player, if you play for Stanley Cup, doesn't matter what happens, you just going to play. You can see right now how many players from L.A., Detroit make a surgery right now because they play with injury. You play for Stanley Cup. That's it. Q. Another injury question. George said you were dealing with some other injuries during the regular season. How much pain were you playing through during the regular season? ALEX OVECHKIN: Well, it was major. It was major problem. I don't know how many games I missed for all my NHL career with injury. Probably like maybe 10, maybe 12, I don't know. But I know made me have some injection and I know I can play. I'm never going to say, I'm not going to play. It's not my style. It's good when you have kind of trainers like we have in Washington. They treat me well. They understand all my bodies, they know all my bodies. They know you a team bodies. If I feel bad, of course they're not going to put me on the ice. But situation was like that. If I have a major injury, I'm never going to say, I'm not going to play. If I can play, hold my stick, if I can skate, of course I'm going to play. I feel pretty good all year. It's thanks for them. Q. How much pride do you take in playing through injuries? ALEX OVECHKIN: Again, it's just injuries. You know, if you hockey player, you can play, you're going to play. It was the same position like me. If I have some major injury, I'm not going to say I can't play it. I'm not that kind of person. I'm not the type of person that says, Sorry, guys, I can't play, I have to be ready for next game. I'm going to play. Everybody knows that. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Alex, and congrats on winning the Hart Trophy. Thank you to everyone for joining us today. ALEX OVECHKIN: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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